The American Dream or the American Delusion

The American dream we've all been sold sounds so sweet, promising freedom and equality.

Bogus!

Delusion, a synonym of Dream.

The American Dream

Defined as an "ideal by which equality of opputunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved". It is the belief that any individual from any background has the freedom to realise their interpretation of success. Upward mobility can be achieved through the hard work of an individual and not through chance. An opportunity rich promise.

The term was coined in the early 1930's during the years of the great depression by James Truslow Adams. In his book, Adams states that the dream is not exclusively one of "motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognised by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position".  However, similar concepts are portrayed as far back as the 18th century in the Declaration of Independence laid out by the Founding Fathers.

The American dream can be broken down simply into the pursuit of happiness, whatever that may be to the individual. Education and homeownership are key staples of the ideology, often being used as measures of success. In today's society, the dream is demonstrated as the opportunity for one's children to grow up and receive a good education without the barriers that usually limit an individual such class, religion, race or ethnicity. For those in the middle and working class, the possibility of betterment through upwards social mobility through the stratas is at the heart of the dream. As Lawrence Samuel stated "Work hard, save a little, send the kids to college so they can do better than you did" being what the country is all about. The dream also promotes entrepreneurship and owning your own business, driving the economy.

One of the main positive aspects of the belief is that it helps to motivate many to strive and work hard to achieve and attain success.

The Delusion

It's all well and good to dream but there comes a time we must face reality. The American dream is or has become a tool used by institutions to impose and feed off predetermined behaviours of society.

Education and homeownership have found their way to being at the heart of the concept with increasing pressure for individuals to take out collosal, 30-year mortgage loans in order to own their own dwelling as a mark of success.

79% of Americans believe that home ownership is an indicator of attaining the American dream - Bankrate

Really, this is a nightmare for most with income inequality continually growing - the rich getting richer and the worser off becoming more and more vunerable. The American dream is ploy to entice us all into schooling, working a job to earn a living and buying homes to keep the wheels of a failing system rolling.

The wool over our eyes - Schooling yields success and homeownership leads to happiness. A two part problem.

First, schooling (and college debt) keeping graduates honest. The schooling system is arguably not designed to educate or increase intelligence, but rather it is a scheme to mould and keep students disciplined and under control, preventing them from thinking for themselves which may disrupt the perfectly crafted system that has been put in place. Students go through the system to raise their career level and status only to be handed a piece of certification and ushered to compete for overprescribed roles allowing entry into the rat race with a huge debt accrued in the ordeal. Only to follow instructions and be controlled in the job role. Graduates are excellent sheep!

Education and employment is needed as it drives the progression of a generation but it does not lead to the success that is promised.

In many instances, debt is used as a means to control and possess power over another individual/organisation or country. I draw the comparison here.

A mortgage is a 30 year prison sentence of debt. You never really own your home until you own it. Even the repayment of the mortgage through the Amortization Schedule highlights this. With the majority of the initial contributions being towards the interest of the loan and not the principal. This coupled with the statistic that says the majority of owners sell and move homes within the first 7 years due to change in circumstances and start a mortgage all over again demonstrates the inequity. An arrangment that is not constructed for your best interest.

This raises the question, why are these organisations so willing to offer schooling loans and mortgages?

The answer to this of course is that they are businesses! They turn a profit from the interest and it is to their benefit to promote continual applications for aformentioned loans. This practice also consequently drives the economy and provides income for the government. Again, none of it is inherently bad and can be used to leverage your situation, however, knowledge of what are you signing up for is paramount.

A system controlling and dragging us around with the leash called "Hope" where our dreams are just that. A dream.

The American dream. An idea imprinted in my head since reading John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" back in secondary school. A qoute that's forever stuck with me from the novel is "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry", for me speaking volumes of how our most meticulously laid plans towards financial independence may and can fail, there is no guarantee of success. It's origin from a poem written by Robert Burns "To a Mouse" where the mouse's well built nest is destroyed in an instant by Robbie when ploughing his field. We can all be likened to the mouse where we are subject to the system, who's interests may crush ours.

To dream or not to dream?